To Become An Elfling
by RedBear5
Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This will have some action in both worlds, with characters from both. Eventually will hook up with the Fellowship. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. Updates will be sporadic, and on no set schedule; my life is chaotic.
1. Chapter 1 Size Issues

Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. Likely M for violence.

My life will be chaotic for the next few months; updates will be sporadic, and on no set schedule as I also have no idea where this story is going yet. If you have ideas, please let me know.

I haven't forgotten my promised education sequels either. (Yes they have been started.)

Disclaimer:

I don't own Harry Potter, any of J.K. Rowling's recognizable universe, or characters. I also don't own Lord of the Rings, any of J.R.R. Tolkien's recognizable universe, or characters. Speech will be some LoTR movie verse, which again, I don't own.

Unbeta'd Harsh criticism welcome. Effusive praise too. ;-)

…

Chapter 1 Size issues

Harry was having a good day. Today was a day of action.

After the 2nd wizarding war with Voldemort, he had spent the next year back at Hogwarts working on his NEWTs. Hermione had insisted. For the first time, there had been no adventures.

The Auror department had already approved his admittance before his grades were final. It was hard for them to deny him entrance with 'I defeated the dark lord' on his resume; something they failed to accomplish.

He discovered why after joining. Apparently catching dark wizards wasn't the point of the department; documenting that they caught dark wizards was. In triplicate. Paperwork was the bane of his existence. And he had thought Snape's essays were horrible.

He luxuriated in the infrequent adrenaline filled days he was allowed out into the field to chase dark wizards. Most of the easy Death Eaters had been caught in the year he was back in Hogwarts. That left cunningly insane wizards and witches still dedicated to the fractured cause, but clever enough to hide from both aurors and former compatriots turning over information for more lenient sentences.

Thoughts returning to the present, he cried "Halt" before chasing Travers down a long portrait lined hallway into a room at the far end. The door slammed shut behind Harry. "Incarcerous" he cried.

"Avada Kedavra" Travers returned.

Harry ducked behind a sofa, leaving Travers enough time to grab a handful of powder, throw it in the fire set in the center of the room with a shout of "Arda", before diving into the flames now occupying the center of the room.

Quickly following, Harry grabbed the powder and repeated Travers's actions, registering that the powder wasn't flue powder only after his own shout of "Arda".

…

His eyes opened to blinding sun. Slowly they adjusted to let him see he was in a forest clearing, blue skies clear above, mountains peaking over the tops of the trees in the distance.

He shook his head, carefully looking for the dark wizard he was chasing. He raised his hand to perform a standard tracking spell, only to notice his sleeve had grown, now covering his hand and most of his wand. Even Dudley's clothes didn't fit this bad. He glanced down. His pants were drowning his shoes. He'd been shrunk! He was house-elf size!

Fearfully, he felt his face. His nose felt normal. No overwhelming honkers to put Snape's to shame. His hands slid to his ears. Nope. No elephant ears either. He breathed a sigh of relief, patting his normal ears in gratitude.

Except…they weren't. His hands froze for a moment in horror. Finally, he dragged the sleeves out of his way, allowing his fingers to feel his pointed ears. He probed them, giving them a slight twist. With a yelp, he released them, giving them another pat in apology.

'Just my luck' he thought.

…

It was cooler now as darkness approached.

He had been wandering about the trackless forest for what seemed like hours. Both his trousers and pants had been abandoned as useless. He had tried to shrink them, but apparently had applied a bit too much magic to the process. Both ended up doll sized, not Harry sized. So he had resorted to a severing charm instead to cut down his shirt sleeves, leaving the shirt length to cover his nakedness below.

His robe was not altered. The tails of his robe were now tied in a knot behind his head. Molly had given him the robe on his graduation from Auror class with Ron. Hermione had further enhanced it with a series of additional spells, including protective shields and hidden pockets with undetectable extension charms. His invisibility cloak was supposed to have permanent residence in one pocket, while another was supposed to hold gear she thought would be useful. Their 'camping trip' had inspired an unbelievably long list of essentials Hermione hadn't accounted for, but should reside in his cloak. But this was Harry. Harry, unfortunately normally forgot to replace everything but food after cleaning the cloak.

Hungrily, he searched his pockets. Apparently he had been lazier than normal; his pockets only yielded a couple of granola bars grabbed from his desk when the report of Travers's location came in. Sighing, he resolved to only eat one of them. He was too familiar with hunger not to know he'd long for more in the near future.

Glancing around at the descending gloom, he determined that he needed to focus on finding a place to spend the night. Up a tree was likely going to be the safest place in the forest. Trying to cast a dim lumos over the area to find something scalable, he was startled again when his magic didn't react as expected. Instead of a dim glow, his wand flared with the brilliance of a sun.

Quickly he throttled back his magic until he reached the smallest trickle he needed to maintain the light. It still illuminated the entire area, but at least now was no longer blinding. Feeling pressured by the sudden increase in forest noise, his eyes rapidly scanned the nearest trees for low branches.

A tree branch behind him groaned in warning. He spun as something darted across his peripheral vision. He saw shadows darting in the forest. Tree noises now were joined by weird chattering. It grew louder as his brain frantically tried to place the sound. He knew this was a bad thing; it was starting to feel familiar. Kind of like…kind of like…like meeting Aragog's children!

He retreated backwards down the path he had come from, firing rapid stunning and severing hexes at the inky shadows. High pitched screams echoed through the forest as his spells connected to arachnids unfamiliar with his brand of magic.

After twenty minutes the spiders retreated, scuttling noisily away from the boy who conquered. Exhausted, Harry collapsed into a seated heap, breathing heavily. He hadn't had a fight like that since the last battle at Hogwarts.

His breathing bellowed in and out, as silence once again descended in the forest. His exhausted brain badgered him with Moody's "Constant vigilance" motto until with a shake of his head, he again looked around, raising his wand to cast a lumos.

Wondering about the sudden silence, he looked up to see the gleam of arrows pointed in his direction. Harry breathed out. He was surrounded by a group of veela. Eyeing the arrows, he rephrased. Primitive veelas.

…

Legolas wasn't having a good day. Early this morning came the report that Gollum had escaped the prison. Another embarrassment for their lack of security. His father had worked himself into a rage when he heard.

Legolas was now leading a group of a dozen elves hunting the evasive creature in the forest. If he didn't succeed in finding him, he would be forced to travel to Lord Elrond, and confess his kingdom's shame. The sly taunts from the dwarves escape nearly 60 years ago still hadn't tapered off. This would be sure to reignite them with new fire.

It had grown too dark to continue searching. The tracks could easily be trampled over in the descending dark. He had made the call to setup camp for the night. They would resume searching at first light.

…

Half an hour into first watch, a brilliant light had flashed in the forest. Legolas knew of few things that could cause such a light. One was Gandalf, who had demonstrated the light in battle.

He signaled half of his patrol to remain, as he led the others to investigate.

…

The light was gone, but as he heard the distinctive sound of spider chattering, he raced forward. Hearing the feared whistle of arrows, the spiders gave up, weaving a quick retreat through the trees. In the center of the furor, he found a strangely dressed short being shooting lights from a stick that was severing spider limbs or freezing the spiders in place.

Legolas signaled two of his smaller group to continue to chase the spiders away. Quickly he gestured to one elf to have the kills confirmed, even as he approached the center of the clearing with the remaining elves, their weapons held ready.

Whatever it was now sitting on the forest floor, was breathing like a Dwarf. 'Perian? (Sindarin, Halfling)' he thought in concern.

The breathing evened out, before the stick once again rose. The child looked up, emerald eyes captivating his.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting New People

OMG – x follows, x favorites and 18 comments. Le hannon (Sindarin, Thank you) so much for the comments, favorites and follows. Welcome all new readers.

Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. Likely M for violence.

The good news, I know how it ends. Sort of. Silly muse; I have 4 pages of ideas, none for the beginning.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Harry Potter, any of J.K. Rowling's recognizable universe, or characters. I also don't own Lord of the Rings, any of J.R.R. Tolkien's recognizable universe, or characters. Speech will be some LoTR movie verse, which again, I don't own.

Unbeta'd Harsh criticism welcome. Effusive praise too. ;-)

…

Chapter 2 Meeting new people

Legolas dropped the nocked arrow downwards in shock. It was a child!

He quickly returned the arrow to his quiver, signaling to the others to lower their weapons also. He took a deep breath, before crouching to the child's height in front of him, the child's stick still aimed at his face. He raised his hand forward to lower the wand. "Peace child. We shall not hurt you."

Harry took a wary step backwards, wand aim unmoving. Shaking his head, he cursed his inability to remember any translation spells.

"Where are your parents?" Legolas asked quietly. Seeing the child shake his head again, he tried using another language.

Harry finally broke his silence "I don't understand you."

Legolas glanced at the other elves with him. They shook their heads, indicating they didn't know the language either. The prince sighed.

Pointing to himself, he repeated "Legolas" twice. Pointing at Harry, he gave him a prompting look.

"Harry" the wizard replied.

"Harry" Legolas repeated, pointing to him.

He nodded. "Harry." He pointed to himself, before pointing to Legolas and repeating "Legolas."

Legolas nodded, a small smile lighting up his features.

Harry looked at the other elves. Each spoke their name slowly and nodded as Harry repeated them.

Introductions over, Legolas pointed to Harry. "Harry" he repeated. Then he indicated a height Harry used to enjoy. "Ada?" he questioned.

'What is he after?' Harry looked at Legolas puzzled, then his hand. 'Does he know I've been shrunk?'

Legolas tried again, by cradling an imaginary baby in his arms, calling the baby Harry. An elf snickered in the background at the sight. Legolas glared the elf to silence.

"Harry ada?" Harry repeated uncertainly, copying the motions.

Legolas nodded.

Harry pondered a moment, before repeating "Harry ada dead", and slicing across his neck.

The elves jerked back, a range of horrified expressions mapped on their faces.

"Harry nana?" (Sindarin, Mother) Legolas questioned carefully, again rocking the baby.

"Harry nana dead too." Harry confirmed, vigorously nodding his head as he again sliced across his neck.

'Where is his home?' Legolas wondered. "Harry" he repeated, "home is where?" before folding his hands and pretending to sleep.

Harry looked around, and shook his head negatively with a shrug.

Sighing, Legolas held out his hand for Harry to take, watching the child carefully.

Harry blinked at the larger hand, before looking at the stranger in puzzlement. 'Was this guy serious? He wants to hold hands with me?' Scrunching up his face, he shook his head in blatant refusal, stepping backwards again.

A few elves snickered at the response.

Legolas tried again, indicating the direction they had come from, then pretending to sleep. With an exaggerated facial expression, Legolas pointed to the corpse of a spider, saying. "Spider. It's unsafe."

Harry considered him for a moment, tilting his head to the side in contemplation. 'The guy wants me to join him?' He didn't have many other options. He could always use apparition to return to this clearing if the stranger led somewhere Harry didn't want to be. At least, as long as he had his wand he could.

Quickly making up his mind, Harry nodded once emphatically, indicating Legolas should lead the way. Nodding carefully, Legolas carefully began the trek back to their campsite.

When the other elves waited for Harry to follow, he shook his head stubbornly, indicating they should precede him. Looking back to see the problem, Legolas signaled assent, asking the others to pass him.

Reluctantly he allowed the child to trail the party, hoping they could win his trust swiftly. It wasn't right that a child should be wandering the forest alone. 'Where were his guardians?' the prince wondered.

He would have to detour to his father with the child in the morning, before resuming the hunt for Gollum. 'What could have happened to the child that he was this distrustful of adults?'

Harry relit his wand, following the elves through the gloomy forest. 'Why did he get himself into these situations? Where the hell was he?'

…

"Hermione, Harry's gone!" Ron called out, bursting into her office.

"What do you mean he's gone?" she demanded.

"We were chasing Travers, when Harry disappeared. He went into a room with some kind of ritual circle laid out in the floor." he replied.

"And?" she prompted.

"And he disappeared!" Ron exclaimed.

"Any other exits?" Hermione asked.

"Anti-apparition wards were up, the flue was disconnected. Standard Auror procedures." Ron panted.

"He had to go somewhere. Has anyone tried a patronus?" she asked.

"No, that's still an Order secret." he responded.

Quickly conjuring hers, she sent the message "Harry, if you get this, please tell us your location."

She gave a relieved sigh watching her Otter disappearing into the wall, before turning back to Ron. "Well, the good news is he's alive." she said.

…

Harry was now officially grumpy. He'd been walking most of the day, he was hungry and the spider battle had exhausted him. His legs had become so damn heavy. He cursed as he stumbled on another root. He glared at the Malfoy-want-to-be walking ahead. 'Exactly how far were they going?'

Legolas was concerned. The poor child was weaving in the low light, dragging his feet on the ground.

He called a halt. Turning back to the child, he held out his hand in an offer of support. Harry stared at him with uncomprehending eyes. With a sharp impatient exhale, Legolas strode towards him. Harry blinked bleary-eyed at the much nearer blonde.

"Come Harry, you are tired. Will you not allow me to assist?" he coaxed, hand held out towards him.

Harry looked at the hands, before returning his gaze to the deep blue eyes watching him. He looked at the trackless path ahead, considering. Tentatively, he nodded his head, lowering his wand slightly.

With a bright smile Legolas scooped him into his arms, wrapping Harry's legs around his waist.

Harry shook his head at the sudden change of view. 'He's carrying me? Why am I being carried? I'm not hurt.' His garbled thoughts sluggishly churned for an answer.

"Come Harry, it's not much farther." Legolas soothed, beginning to walk again, his hand stroking along the child's back.

Too tired to argue, Harry tentatively relaxed, allowing his arms to flop boneless to his side, his right hand still clutching his wand. Legolas trailed his hand down each arm, before draping each around his neck. He coaxed Harry to rest against him.

It was a warm embrace, the glide of forward movement creating a steady rocking motion in counterpoint to the circles Legolas massaged into his tired muscles. Harry opened his mouth in a large yawn, eyes scrunched closed. Darkness swiftly descended.

…

The remaining members of the golden trio retreated to back to Grimmauld Place, barred by Ministry protocol from investigating the disappearance.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in exasperation, seeing his invisibility cloak and other gear that should have resided inside his Auror cloak scattered on the dining table.

"Hermione" Ron prompted, "do you think we could borrow his cloak and go onsite?" he asked, fingering it lightly.

"We'll have to talk to Kingsley first. We should have heard back from the patronus by now; Harry would need to be captured and wandless or unconscious not to reply." she stated, worrying her lip between her teeth. Looking again at the table in frustrated despair, she lamented "We know what he doesn't have with him."

"Great" Ron exclaimed, before shuffling his feet. "So who's going to tell Ginny?" he asked, studying the new carpet.

"She's your sister Ron." Hermione growled in exasperation. "It's your job."

…

Ginny did not take the news well.

She was currently bound to a chair in the kitchen, silenced and stripped of her wand in a lame attempt to stifle her anger. Instead it fed the flames; her glare could pierce concrete now. She wasn't going to lose Harry, and was determined everyone would know this.

The pair had had a tumultuous relationship ever since the last battle.

She had become paranoid that she would lose Harry, especially after Harry told his story about walking into the woods. Sometimes this was expressed in extreme clinginess, until Harry was driven to practice near suicidal quidditch maneuvers to escape into the freedom of his own mind.

Harry loved that Ginny had stepped up to protect him from the press and his fans with stunning effect; he had dropped off the front page of the Prophet for the last six months. The pair was so firmly linked in people's minds that the most common question they received in public was when where they getting married?

Hermione stepped back into the room. "Kingsley will be right over with what news there is to be had. He asked if we could sit on Ginny until then."

Ron gulped, looking back at Hermione. "Is he going to release her then?" he asked, looking at his sister's furious face. "That might be a bad idea." he said, shuffling his feet at her stare.

"Oh for Merlin's sake Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, shooting a cheering charm at the seated witch.

Ginny began to laugh as Ron breathed a sigh in relief.

…

Rumil bowed before the king. "I bring news of Lothlorien" he reported. "Galandriel has seen grave changes in the world."

"Speak." Thranduil demanded, indicating Rumil could rise.

Rumil rose gracefully. "Galandriel has seen a hooded figure with magic travelling with the orcs. The magical figure is not one of the five, she is certain."

"Orcs with magic? This is grave news." he responded in disbelief, before asking "Does she know what magic they can do?"

"She has seen little but killing with a few words, like shooting an arrow from a stick. Armor does not stop his spells." Rumil replied.

Thranduil raised his eyebrow. "Has she seen any defenses from this person?" the king probed.

"None." came the distressing reply.

"What of the rest of the White Council?" Thranduil demanded.

"My brother Orophin travels to Imladris, while another travels to Saruman." Rumil replied. "I must return directly to my lady."

"Elrond has already called for a council; Legolas was to represent Mirkwood." Thranduil commented, before pondering. "I will send word to Legolas to leave with a party immediately."

Rumil bowed. "Le hannon. (Sindarin, Thank you)"

…

Harry's life had been unfolding in a normal, predictable way since the war. In addition to completing his schooling, Harry had been a steady relationship with Ginny since shortly after Fred's funeral.

They both sought comfort in the other when dealing with the grievous losses of the Battle of Hogwarts. The ministry's decision to bury the defenders on the grounds had ensured that those students still attending school had a daily reminder of the cost of the war. Since graduating, both had spent uncounted nights sleeping in each other's arms; it was one of the few potion-free ways to banish the nightmares they both still suffered from.

Harry sighed, gripping the warm body closer, his face buried in delicious smelling hair. A fleeting thought that 'Ginny must have switched shampoos again.' crossed his dazed mind. He smiled contentedly, eyes still closed before additional information prodded his sleepy brain.

The sounds weren't right. He stilled, listening hard. He had sworn to never go camping again after the Horcrux year, but he could hear wind in the trees. Perplexed, his eyes flickered open.

He recoiled on meeting strange blue eyes. Information flooded back into his brain. 'The veelas. Right.' He shook the sleepiness from his head. 'Wait.' He looked down at his position, puzzled eyes returning to blue ones. 'I was sleeping in his arms?'

"Good morning little one." Legolas said, stroking soothing circles on his back, holding Harry tighter to his body. Shocked, Harry just stared at him.

Across the fire, another elf called "The child awakes? he asked, walking towards them with a lembas loaf in his hand. "Has he eaten?"

A hungry growl from his belly responded for Harry.

Smiling brightly at the child, Legolas carefully set Harry down on a fallen log, reaching his hand to accept the bread. "Lembas" he said, indicating the food.

"Lembas" Harry dutifully parroted.

Legolas broke off a bite-sized piece, holding it to Harry's lips.

'He's feeding me?' came the confused thought, a suspicion forming at the back of Harry's mind. 'He thinks I'm a child!' Harry reared back at the thought, shocked visage locked onto Legolas's features.

His smile fading at the negative reaction, Legolas carefully took back the piece. He demonstrated eating the food, chewing and swallowing it quickly, before breaking off another piece to try again.

Harry intercepted the journey to his mouth, stopping it with his hand. Hesitantly he plucked the offering from Legolas's fingertips, popping the whole thing inside in a swift movement.

Legolas looked at him sadly, sighing as he lowered his hand.

Resolutely chewing, Harry tried to ignore the change in expression. 'He wasn't going to be fed by hand. He wasn't a child. Even if the guy looked…disappointed?' His eyes darted back to verify. 'Nope. Now the guy's eyes were twinkling at him.'

Legolas smirked, 'Harry looks like a chipmunk, cheeks stuffed with excess food.' he thought, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Harry swiftly ducked out of range, glaring at him. The familiar twinkle brought back unpleasant memories of a much older, manipulative headmaster. He fought to swallow past a suddenly restricted throat, his eyes haunted with the past.

Rocking back onto his heels concerned, Legolas raised his hands up in plaintive surrender. "Is everything alright Harry?" he asked.

Harry started at him bemusedly. 'What was the guy after now?'

Frustrated at the language barrier, Legolas observed the child. The momentary darkness had vanished, replaced with a lost expression. To distract him Legolas said "Now that Harry has lembas, we must travel to my ada (Sindarin, father)." Standing up he held out his hand.

Harry eyed him warily; glaze flickering between his blue eyes and outstretched hand, before examining the clearing he woke in. More blondes had joined the party in the night. They were staring at him in various expressions of wonder.

'Merlin, he walked into a fan convention! His fan convention!' Fingering his wand holster to find it frighteningly empty, he backed away slowly from the group.

Troubled, Legolas glanced behind him. Quickly recognizing the problem, he began issuing orders. "You're scaring him. Get ready to continue the hunt for the creature. Lomon and Gaeron, you're returning to the palace with me."

Scrambling to obey, the elves broke into action, diverting their stares from the overwhelmed child. As they worked, they couldn't help glancing from the corner of their eyes. 'It has been so long since a child has been in the Greenwood.' Despite vibrating with excitement, they restrained themselves. Barely. Celebrations would come later.

Still feeling the slyly stolen glances, Harry scanned the ground for his missing wand.

Watching him grow increasingly agitated, Legolas called his attention back. "Are you looking for your stick, little one?" he asked, pulling it from the safe storage location of his quiver.

Harry gasped, darting forward to seize his wand.

Latching on to his wrist, Legolas turned Harry's arm around to examine the sheath strapped to the arm. It appeared too large for the child, but the right size for the stick. He interrogatively glanced at the stick, then the holder, copying his father's raised eyebrow.

Harry followed his eyes, nodding in response.

Legolas smiled, before indicating Harry should holster his weapon.

Reluctantly, Harry did as asked. Since he let go of his wand during his sleep, the tracking spell failed. Travers could be anywhere now.

He glanced up as Legolas once again approached. "Come little one, we'll go to the palace now." The prince scooped down to once again cradle the child in his arms.

'I'm being carried…again? Hermione where are you when I need you?' Harry thought desperately.


	3. Chapter 3 Orientation

OMG – 188 follows, 98 favorites, 31 comments, and 5 communities. Le hannon (Sindarin, Thank you) so much for the communities, comments, favorites and follows. Welcome all new readers.

Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. M for violence.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Harry Potter, any of J.K. Rowling's recognizable universe, or characters. I also don't own Lord of the Rings, any of J.R.R. Tolkien's recognizable universe, or characters. Speech will be some LoTR movie verse, which again, I don't own.

Unbeta'd Harsh criticism welcome. Effusive praise too. ;-) Please review.

…

Chapter 3 Orientation

Legolas was running through the forest, carrying Harry in his arms. Two others flanked them in the trees, leaping from branch to branch. Seeing the speed used by the trio, he realized he had no ability to keep up to their pace, even in his preshrunk form.

But he didn't understand 'Why don't they just apparate back to where they were going? Veelas had magic. Also why didn't any of them cast a translation spell? It was a sixth year NEWT requirement.'

A more pressing issue was developing; he really, really needed to be let down to use the facilities. Legolas had been patting and rubbing his back with shushing noises every time he tried to communicate the growing pressure of his bladder.

Losing it, he poked Legolas hard in the shoulder. When the elf's eyes fell to his to chide him, he blatantly pulled up his shirt to reach for, and indicate himself. Eyes widening, Legolas called a halt.

Gaeron snickered. "I guess he's potty trained." Lomon joined his laughter at the look of horror on the prince's face at the idea he may not have been.

Grounded, Harry immediately dashed to the nearest tree. His mind was blank, his eyes closed as he sighed in relief; which is why he didn't immediately see the otter swimming up to him in the air.

"Harry, if you get this, please tell us your location." Hermione's voice rang through the clearing.

He opened his eyes to see an arrow fly through her patronus.

"Stop" he yelled, as he held up a halting hand to Legolas. Harry quickly cast his own spell. "Hermione. Connection is 'Arda' to forest with acromantula, by mountains with veela. No common language; send translation spell. Lost Travers. I've been shrunk and have pointy ears."

He looked up to see Legolas watch him with speculative eyes, as his stag disappeared into the distance.

…

They had quickly continued the journey, approaching the palace as dusk fell. Harry watched warily as Legolas quickly bowed to his ada (Sindarin, father). 'Merlin. This guy is worse than Lucius Malfoy.' Eyeing the crown in contemplation, 'Although, from the garland of berries clinging to the headpiece, maybe he's as loony as Voldemort was.' He snorted to himself. 'Least he doesn't have red eyes.'

Staring down at his son, Thranduil asked "Legolas, why have you brought this child?"

Legolas smiled down at Harry, placing his hand on his shoulder for reassurance. "He was found in the woods, ada (Sindarin, father), fighting off spiders with this." Legolas indicated the wand holster, fingering the handle as if to draw the wand and show his father.

Harry prevented the prince from touching it, looking carefully between Legolas and Thranduil. Slowly, Harry removed the holly wand, falling naturally into a defensive fingering of his wand.

"Why was he alone in the forest?" the king demanded.

"He has indicated his parents are dead." Legolas said, his blue eyes locked on their older twins, eyes showing how this answer pained him.

"Why did you not return him to his homeland?" Thranduil questioned gently.

"We have no idea where he is from. We don't know where to return him. He speaks no language we recognize." Legolas answered.

"Really?" Thranduil drawled, eyebrow raised. "Look here child."

Harry stared up at the king, unimpressed. 'He should take lessons from Snape on intimidation.' He thought randomly. He looked at Legolas "Legolas ada?" he questioned, pointing at Thranduil before rocking an imaginary baby in his arms.

With a slight twitch of his lips, Legolas nodded. "Legolas ada" he repeated.

Harry nodded at the answer, before facing Thranduil again. "I'm Harry Potter." he said calmly. "I'm here chasing a Death Eater named Travers for the British Ministry of Magic. I'm not exactly sure where I am in relation to London, or what language you're speaking." he shrugged dismissively.

Slowly the king descended the throne stairs. "What language do you speak?" Thranduil demanded.

Harry glanced at Legolas, but he didn't seem to be getting help from that direction.

Thranduil paced around him, staring down at the child. Harry rotated on the spot to keep him in his line of sight, wand slightly lowered but gripped loosely, ready for action. Seeming to make a decision, Thranduil turned once more to face his son.

"Take the child to a locked room. His stick is to be removed from him _by the guards_" he stressed "and secured. Afterwards, you may see to his wellbeing. I will arrange to have someone instruct him in common before I question him farther. Return when this is accomplished." With a final look at the child, he ascended his throne.

A bemused Harry soon trailed Legolas deeper into the palace.

…

"He was been seen in visions working with the orcs! We cannot take the risk." Thranduil retorted.

Their argument had heatedly escalated, with Legolas vocally advocating for the child. Never having had an elfling younger than him in Mirkwood, he had expected Harry to be dotted upon like he was. Hearing that he would be held weaponless under guard brought forth every protective instinct Legolas had. He pictured Harry's escalating panic when separated from his stick, his threatened countenance when his patrol snuck glances at the endearing child.

"How will locking him up endear him to us! He's a child!" Legolas cried.

"You don't know him!" Thranduil countered. "You have no idea where he is from, who his parents are, and what he has suffered. He's obviously damaged; no child of any race hesitates to accept comfort from an adult when they're that young."

Thranduil came over and placed his hand on Legolas's shoulder. "I know you have sympathy for him, my son. Your heart cries for him. But the child can barely communicate." His hand squeezed, before he continued gently. "He needs to be taught, and questioned, before we make lasting decisions for him. Until then, we must proceed with caution."

Dropping his eyes from his Thranduil's earnest expression, Legolas reluctantly nodded.

Trying to coax a smile from his normally stoic son, he suggested "You should introduce him to his tutor, and say goodbye to the child before leaving for Imladris. It may help his transition to life here. I will do what I can in your absence." Thranduil smiled at his son. "Do not fret so."

…

By the time Kingsley had reached the Burrow on the first day, Molly was falling apart.

Since the Burrow had been destroyed by Death Eaters, it had been rebuilt nearly the same. Both Harry and Hermione had appeared on the Weasley's new clock, Harry's name now pointing to 'lost'. Molly had pointed to the clock before demanding answers when Kingsley first arrived.

Three days had passed quickly since Harry's disappearance. The living members of the Order were joined by the remains of Dumbledore's army, all surrounding the kitchen table in various postures of frustration and grief.

They had appeared from the woodwork, each demanding answers and the truth after the headline of 'The SAVIOUR IS GONE!' was screamed from the Daily Prophet's evening edition, along with a quarter page photo of Harry taken by Colin Creevey at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Into this scene, Harry's patronus appeared.

…

They quickly determined that Arda was not a flue address.

It took Hermione casting sonorous afterwards to attract everyone's attention. Quickly a world map was produced, causing chaos to erupt as possible locations were shouted out. Hermione methodically drew circles around potential locations and crossed others out.

"We'll need to involve the Veela High Council in the search. Some of their communities are very isolated." Kingsley said, before cautioning "Our relations with some of the Veela nations have not been great since the war. They may not want to help."

"Can you contact the French veela's unofficially?" Bill asked his half veela wife Fleur.

"Oui. For Harry they will cooperate." she responded.

…

"Harry, I would like to introduce you to Raneth." Legolas said gently, indicating the female behind him. She smiled brightly at him, stepping forward to place her hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry warily stepped back, eyeing her hand.

Disappointed, her smile faded, sadness appearing in her eyes. "Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn." (Sindarin, A star shines on the hour of our meeting.) she said quietly.

He met her eyes for a moment dismissively. He had more important concerns than being introduced to fans. Travers was still out there. When Legolas wasn't here, they'd taken his wand. Nothing indicated these veelas used magic. Without it, they were defenseless against the Death Eater.

He looked determinately into the prince's eyes, holding out his empty sheath and tapping it. "They took my wand. I need it back." he demanded.

"Harry" Legolas said sharply. "This is Raneth." he said pointing to her. He repeated "Raneth." emphatically, eyeing Harry in expectation.

Sighing, Harry repeated "Raneth, Legolas, Harry" pointing to each in turn. Legolas smiled at him, as he answered.

"My wand." he repeated, tapping urgently.

"Goheno nin" (Sindarin, sorry) he said, shaking his head, dropping to a knee before the child. "Ada says you must learn from Raneth," he said pointing to her, "before your stick is returned." he continued, tapping the sheath. Sympathetic blue eyes met his frustrated green ones, as Legolas reached forward to caress the silken cheek. "Do not fear little one, my ada will care for you. No threats will harm you here."

Sadly, he continued. "I journey for Imladris in the morning. I shall not see you for a long time, if ever. You may be returned to your people soon." He said, before looking intently into Harry's eyes. "Aa' menealle nauva calen ar' malta." (Sindarin, May your ways be green and golden.)

Sensing something important had been said, Harry cursed his lack of understanding. He was startled when Legolas reached forward to draw him into a hug.

It was a Molly-type hug; encompassing, inescapable, and warm. The delicious smell wafted over him as Harry tentatively relaxed once again in his embrace. He had a sinking feeling that he would be once more abandoned in a strange world, left to figure things out for himself. "Goodbye" he whispered.

The grip tightened momentarily, before he was released.

…

Left alone with Raneth, she studied him intently, finally pinching her nose to say "Sevig thû úan." (Sindarin, You smell like a monster.) with a smile.

Harry stared at her. 'What did she think? He'd just spent two days in the woods without facilities. He'd battled spiders. Of course he smelled.'

Shortly after this comment, a parade of water bearers entered the room.

It was when she attempted to strip his clothes that he first freaked. She called the guards to manhandle his clothes off and him into the waiting bath. He was quickly submersed in the water.

He attempted to fight off the hands running over his body, but there were too many. He was mortified.

Soon, slippery from the soap and water, he evaded their hands, backing into the corner with only his cloak as protection. He refused to budge, striking out at anyone approaching. Stalemate.

…

Legolas burst into the room, followed by Lomon and Gaeron . A hurried discussion followed, with lots of gestures towards Harry. Legolas finally nodded, and cleared the room of all but himself and Raneth.

"Harry, you need a bath." Legolas said, tapping the tub.

Scrunching his face, he vehemently shook his head, indicating Raneth. Legolas turned to her and said something quickly. She left and Gaeron returned.

"Harry, you need a bath." Legolas repeated, tapping the tub.

He shooed them away from his destination. Reluctantly Harry removed his cloak, tentatively approaching the tub. He snatched the washing cloth and soap, clutching them to his chest as he climbed back to sit in the water. Eyeing them guardedly, he began to scrub the dirt off himself.

Spotting the bottle beside him, he also washed his hair, finally dunking away the suds in the dirty water.

"Gaeron, the water." Legolas asked.

Gaeron picked up a pail, cautiously approaching the child. Legolas indicated he should stand up.

With a careful nod Harry allowed Gaeron to pour the rinsing water over his head, before shivering in the chill. He opened his eyes to see Legolas holding out a towel. He quickly stepped out to wrap it around himself.

Legolas advanced to help pat the moisture from his limbs.

Harry retreated out of range, continuing to dry himself. He finished by rubbing the moisture from his hair, creating his normal chaotic hairstyle.

Spotting the clean clothing, Legolas gathered it to help him dress.

Harry snatched the clothes, once again retreating into the corner. 'Merlin, he dressed himself since he was five!' Determinately, he dressed himself quickly, shooting warning looks at the pair.

Sighing, Legolas produced a comb, and indicated Harry should sit in front of him.

Shaking his head, Harry held out his hand for the comb.

Smirking, Legolas returned the head shake, tapping on the seat.

With dragging feet Harry approached, sitting down with a scowl. Legolas gripped both shoulders once in comfort, before gently working the comb through his hair.

It felt like black silk. It was choppy and short, untamed. He ran his fingers back through the locks to separate the strands for braiding.

A cold wave crashed over his body, as he froze in place. 'No, he was imagining things.' He placed the comb on the cheekbone, slowly angling up to draw the hair away from the ear.

"Legolas" Gaeron asked in concern, watching the prince pale.

"Fetch my father."

…

The evening light shone on the dais featuring the head table. Harry had been seated at the head table with Thranduil, two places from the king, in perfect placement to be observed by the rest of the hall. The hall was more crowded than normal; word of the elfling child had spread, so even those who normally sought meals elsewhere made an excuse to see the new wonder. It was the second day Harry had faced this microscopic examination, and he hated it.

Raneth reached over to slice his food. He wasn't allowed a knife. He was allowed solid food.

The first night he was presented with some type of mash, which Raneth attempted to feed him. Harry locked his jaw, shaking his head determinately at her. Everyone had watched with amusement as he turned his back to her, before stealing his neighbor's fork and stabbing into some rabbit from the next plate. He stuffed it into his mouth, chewing quickly. He glared back at her defiantly as laughter broke out around the room. They didn't feed him mash again.

Tonight it was carrots, some type of potato and more rabbit.

He was just swirling the last of the potato in the last of the juices when the otter swam into the room. Utensils were dropped, glasses crashed to the table as guards drew both knives and bows, rushing forward to stop the apparition.

Thranduil glanced at Gaeron in question. When he nodded, the king raised his hand. With a single shout of "Daro!" (Sindarin, Stop.) all forward momentum stopped. The elves watched in wonder as the otter, undeterred, approached the little elfling beaming at it.

Hermione's familiar voice rang out. "Harry, translation spell is 'reddere' with a swish, swish, flick. Any more details on location or veela?"

Harry turned to the king. "My wand" he demanded, tapping his empty sheath.

Thranduil shook his head no. The king didn't flinch at the heated return glare from the small elfling, who was now shouting at him. His words were incomprehensible, but his anger at being denied radiated from his very being.

The elves were aghast. No elfling should ever have cause to feel such rage. They exchanged uneasy glances, wondering at the source of the dispute.

With a final glare at the intractable king, Harry stalked away from the table, abandoning the rest of his meal. He was quickly trailed by Raneth, Gaeron and his assigned guards.

…

Harry stared numbly at the door. It was nap time.

After his bath, he'd finally seen his reflection. He'd not only been shrunk, he'd been de-aged. He looked like a child again. Even as a child Harry was never allowed to sleep regularly during the day. He normally caught up on his sleep when being punished, like when he was locked in his closet without food.

He could understand why the veela were treating him with the fragility of childhood. The first time he'd held his godson Teddy in his arms, he thought he might break him. Now that Teddy had grown into the precocious toddler he was, he regularly had to be treated for the numerous bumps and bruises he managed to acquire throughout the day.

There didn't appear to be other children running around this place. Instead, all eyes followed him; many made cooing noises as he approached. It was worse than back home. At least there he could escape to the muggle world in anonymity. And he was acknowledged as an adult.

But now…now he had nap time. Frustrated, he groaned.

Instead of sleeping, he worried; Hermione was not normally slow to respond. He received the translation spell a full three days after he sent his own patronus. Wherever he was, the aurors also hadn't followed him with a squad. Something was up, and Travers was his best hope of information. He needed his wand. He wasn't sure where it was hidden.

He would sneak out tonight and find it.

…

He needed a new plan.

Last night, he was caught as he attempted to sneak out the door by the guards. He did his best to cast wandless silencing, notice-me-not and disillusionment charms. The disillusionment charm failed before he made it down the hall. He was caught seconds later and returned to his room.

In addition to the morning's admonishing verbiage from Raneth, he had been made to stand facing the corner for 15 minutes. Raneth seriously needed to rethink her punishments if she thought that would be an effective deterrent. Not that Harry was complaining.

'I will need to be more Slytherin' he thought to himself. 'Not knowing the language created a barrier, but his keepers seemed to be looking for ways to interact with him. He would teach them hide and seek.

It would allow him to search most of the palace without seeming to, casting wandless accio to retrieve his wand. Anytime he 'wandered' into where he was barred from entry could be dismissed as a translation failure.' He rolled over, still in deep thought.

'They seemed unsure about his age. He could imitate his godson Teddy, to lower their suspicions further. It might also keep the punishments down. Although, if last night was an indication of the type of 'punishments' dished out, he'd happily endure a lecture and staring at the wall.'

…

Harry had found the perfect hiding place. There was a little forgotten space hollowed out in the back of the throne steps. It reminded him of his cupboard. He was also reminded of listening at Order meetings with the twin's extendible ears.

He had successfully stolen back his wand.

Gaeron had been delighted when he proposed the game. It had taken a while to communicate the rules.

Security had been setup around each room when the game began. Harry had insisted on 'playing' in his Auror robes. The bright red robes made hiding harder, but lulled his playmates into not watching his every move. They were under the impression he was too young to realize red is not an easy color to hide in. However, the robes were necessary to hide his wand in one of the pockets with undetectable extension charms applied. They were keyed to his magical signature, and invisible to everyone else.

On the second day of hide and seek, his wand came shooting into his hand from another room. He quickly hid it in his robes, continuing to play as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

In his wanderings he hadn't yet found an escape route. He was reluctant to try apparition after the problems he'd been having with his magic. He really didn't want to splich himself. After all, he had tried numerous castings of the translation spell without success. Sighing softly, he tried again.

…

Hermione sat in shock. She had received Harry's last patronus, indicating he didn't recognize anything on the local maps. 'Why didn't they catch it before?'

There appeared to be a day and a half delay for a patronus to be delivered. A patronus would only fail if the recipient wasn't alive or was no longer in this time. Could the delay indicate the distance Harry had travelled? Maybe it was like light speed…which meant he was either on another world, or in a different dimension? She didn't think there was research to prove either theory; the magical world was woefully lacking in scientific thinking.

Frustrated, she growled. Even if she figured this out, there still was the shrinking mystery to solve. And pointed ears? What in Merlin's name had the ritual done to her friend? She needed to see the runes; she and Ron would break-in to the crime scene tonight.

…

It was a small party of orcs, normally not much of a challenge. Only 30 or so, to his dozen elves.

His patrol began decimating the opposing force with practiced precision, arrows flying at targets long before they were within blade range. He smirked when he again managed to slay two orcs with one arrow. Finally, they were close enough that he was able to apply his blades to devastating effect.

He ducked beneath an orc blade from behind, as the decapitated head of the opponent before him hit the ground. His leg shot back, knocking the threat back into range for an eviscerating strike as he spun.

Behind the rows of orcs, he made out a hooded robed figure. Sheathing his blades, he took aim. The arrow bounced off an invisible shield.

"Avada Kedavra" the figure lazily replied.

A green light shot towards him, similar to what he witnessed in the forest with Harry. He evaded, crying "Noro! Drego!" (Sindarin, Run! Flee!)

Responding without question, the remains of his patrol disengaged and fled. Helegnaer and Lomon alternated covering fire of their retreat.

"Stupefy" the hooded figure said, watching in satisfaction as the red light hit Lomon.

Helegnaer cried out as Lomon slipped to the ground. Boridhren turned to add his arrows to their retreat pattern.

They didn't stop the horses until the sun kissed the skyline at the River Anduin. Legolas looked on in horror as a skull appeared in the sky, entwined with a snake, over their former position.

…

Finally he'd had success with the translation spell. He had debated returning to the search for an escape route, but he was trapped, guards in position to find his hiding place if he moved. He could slip out during dinner. Until then, he would gather information.

The messenger stood before the king. "Orcs attacked the prince's party on the Old Forest Road just west of the Mirkwood tree line." He bowed his head in grief. "I'm sorry my liege, only 6 survived. Legolas was among them."

"Why did you leave him?" the king asked with a hard voice.

"He sent me to report that with the orcs was the magic wielder. It was not the elfling as feared; he was the size of an adult."

Harry flinched in his perfect hiding place behind the throne. 'Did they think I would hurt them?' he wondered. 'But they've been nice to me.'

…

A/N – Please review. You have no idea how happy it makes me. I treasure them all.


	4. Chapter 4 Motivation

OMG – 285 follows, 147 favorites, 59 comments, and 7 communities. Le hannon (Sindarin, Thank you) so much for the communities, comments, favorites and follows. Welcome all new readers.

I love learning about you. Shame on anyone who has not put anything on their bio. *pouts*

Summary: Harry Potter chased a former death eater into a portal to a new world. Now his issues have grown. This is going to be Harry/elfling, just 'cause I love them. Likely M for violence.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Harry Potter, any of J.K. Rowling's recognizable universe, or characters. I also don't own Lord of the Rings, any of J.R.R. Tolkien's recognizable universe, or characters. Speech will be some LoTR movie verse, which again, I don't own.

Unbeta'd Harsh criticism welcome. Effusive praise too. ;-)

…

Chapter 4 Motivation

"They're not all dead." Harry said quietly, crawling out of his dusty hiding place to confront the king. "Or at least, they weren't."

"Child? How do you now understand us? How long have you been listening?" Thranduil demanded.

"I found my wand. You shouldn't have taken it from me." he said simply. "You heard Hermione send me a translation spell. Why did you not cast one?"

"Translation spell? We cannot cast such. Elves have magic, but not like the Istari." he replied.

"But you're veela, aren't you?" he asked puzzled.

"Veela?" Thranduil laughed. "No child, we are elves of the Woodland Realm."

"Oops. I better tell Hermione they're searching for me in the wrong area." Harry muttered under his breath. "You don't look like house elves." he finished, before meeting the king's eyes.

Thranduil's brow rose at the muttering, before he pushed it aside. "How do you know some of my kin are alive?" he questioned.

Harry pointed at the new elf, who supplied his name "Helegnaer"

"Ya, he said Lomon was hit with a red light. That's a stunning spell, not a killing spell. Avada Kedavra is green." Harry said.

Thranduil carefully studied the child. "You know how to cast these spells? You've seen them in use?" he asked intrigued.

Harry shook his head positively, shrugging dismissively. "Yes, but I've never cast the killing curse. It takes a lot of hate to cast."

"Hate? Orcs certainly are known for that." Turing to the other elf, Thranduil ordered "Organize a hunting party. Look for Lomon." Helegnaer nodded, spinning on his heel to execute the command.

"Why did you take my wand? Did you really think I would hurt you?" he asked the king, sadly searching his eyes for fear he'd become accustomed to since defeating the dark lord.

"We knew you had magic, but not your motives. Never before has an elfling reacted so suspiciously to our kin at such a young age. We couldn't ask, only watch your actions." He paused, studying the enigma. "Where are you from? Who are your parents?" he questioned gently.

Nodding in understanding, Harry answered "I'm Harry Potter, from London England. My parents were Lilly and James Potter. They died when I was a baby."

His eyes narrowed. "Where is London England? Why were you alone in the forest?" he probed.

"I wasn't alone; I was chasing a Death Eater. I work for the British Ministry of Magic as an Auror…a sort of criminal catcher. I don't know where London is in relation to here." he shrugged again.

"A child?" Thranduil asked his voice displaying his doubt. "They would send a child to chase a criminal?"

"Umh, not exactly." Harry said looking down and shuffling his feet. "Something happened when I came here; I shrunk and my ears got pointy? Hermione's looking into it. Unless you know?" he asked hopefully, staring into the kings blue eyes.

"You were not an elf." Thranduil stated, descending his throne. He paced around the small child, studying his features.

"No, I was a man. A wizard." Harry confirmed.

Still circling slowly to examine him, he asked "Of what age were you?"

"I _am_ twenty." Harry said with emphasis. "I'm an _adult_."

Thranduil sent an ironic smile at him "Still a child." he contradicted. "Elflings take a hundred years to grow to adult height, but continue their studies for another four hundred years. You are an elfling now; you can no longer claim adult status."

Harry's eyes grew wide. "No way. There's no way I want to repeat my childhood. Once was more than enough."

Eyes sharpening, Thranduil stared down at him, mind reeling. 'What had happened to this child?'

…

It was ridiculous really. It shouldn't be so easy to break into an active crime scene.

There was a pair of guards present, both theoretically monitoring the access points and all activity onsite. In practice, they huddled together to gossip about the latest Quidditch match, where by fluke the Cannon's won. Hermione had to smack Ron under the invisibility cloak to stop his input into the debate as they slipped past.

The room had been cleared of the sofa damaged in the fight. Now the ancient runes were visible in the moonlight, drawn in repeating patterns on the floor.

Hermione carefully copied the ritualistic markings down, muttering to herself as she identified portions of the writing from previous study.

Finished with the first step, she collected scrapings of the runes, before pocketing a large sample of the activation powder. It resembled flue powder; similar coloring, silky texture, but the scent was off. She'd scour Harry's library first, before tapping into Malfoy's tomes.

Since starting to work with Draco on drafting new laws, he'd often dragged her back to his library to prove his theories as correct. While both Hogwarts and the Ministry libraries had been subject to pillage over time, his family library had been vigorously defended over the centuries. Even during the occupation of the Dark Lord, the library and other key areas of the house had been sealed with blood wards tied to ancient family magic. Hermione had found herself proposing ever more radical ideas to regain access; Draco had started to get suspicious.

…

"Show me your magic." Thranduil requested. "I want to learn what my people face."

"There's something still a bit wonky about it." Harry warned the king. He tapped his hand to lift his glamour's. Looking up, Harry froze in horror. The glamour on the king's face had also fallen, revealing the scarred damage done to one side of his face.

Seeing the transfixed look locked onto his face, Thranduil smiled bitterly. "I know well the wrath and ruin of dragon fire. I have faced the great serpents before." His hand waved languidly, restoring the illusion of perfect beauty. "Now tell me of your scars." he coaxed gently.

"I'm sorry." Harry said with empathy. "I know how dangerous dragons can be."

Thranduil's breath froze. "What do you know of dragons?" he demanded in horror.

…

Hermione's head hit the book in despair. The only references she'd found in the Black library made vague references to the ritual, saying only that it brings one to another place. Other places described included locations, flora, languages and history not documented anywhere else on earth.

He had to be in a different world; but the potential number of worlds that could be accessed was infinite. There was no indication of the signs, calculations or potion formulas used to get to the right one. The death eaters must have had access to other books.

"Hermione, have you found anything yet?" Ginny demanded impatiently.

She looked up to see the two youngest redheads standing in the doorway, Ginny holding lunch for the trio. They had both tried to help her research, but neither knew anything of rituals or arithmancy, and got quickly lost in the texts. She had banned them from the library.

Instead, Hermione had been working nonstop on finding the ritual; enough that her friends needed to remind her to eat. Sleep wasn't a problem; her head would hit the books when her body no longer listened to her mind's refusal's to stop. Sometimes she awoke to find herself moved to a bed.

"He's in a different world. I have no idea how to get to the right one, even if we figure out the other elements." she growled in despair, blinking the frustrated tears from her eyes as she slumped exhausted in the seat.

"You'll get it Hermione." Ron piped up. "You may need a couple of volunteers to test it. Do you suppose we can shove Malfoy into another world?" he asked with a grin.

"Ron, that's brilliant." she exclaimed, sitting upright.

"We can get rid of him?" Ron said, perking up.

She glared at him. "No, of course not." she said, rolling her eyes. "We'll send numbered care packages through the portal to test it. He can use his patronus to let us know which arrived."

"What if he's not in the right location?" Ron asked.

"We'll figure something out." she answered, jotting another note to herself before joining them for tea.

…

"Why did you not listen to your tutor?" Thranduil demanded.

Harry snorted, ignoring Raneth hovering behind him. "She treated me like an infant. Everyone in authority has always sought to control or manipulate me. I don't care for rules or even laws I don't believe in. I care about what's right." he said, scowling at Thranduil. "Like it wasn't right to take my wand." he added admonishingly.

"We had reports of someone fighting with orcs using magic. You exhibit the same magic as described." Thranduil answered carefully.

"Orcs huh? Travers must be working with them." Harry muttered to himself.

"What do you know of this other magic wielder?" the king questioned.

"Yes, Travers, nasty piece of work. One of the inner circle of death eaters for Voldemort during the last wizarding war." Harry answered.

"Wizarding war? There are only 5 wizards in Arda." Thranduil corrected.

"7 now. I need to find out what he's doing here. If he thinks Arda is a great hidey-hole for death eaters…" his voice trailed off as he mentally went through the count of death eaters still at large. "20-50 wizards left; most of the rest have been captured."

Thranduil paled. "So many?" He gestured absentmindedly with his hand to reverse the throne room guards summoned by his distressed tones. "Do they all carry wands, shooting unstoppable spells?"

"Yup." Harry said cheerfully. "I need to find him, and interrogate him for information." Looking up at the king's white face. "Don't worry. I have friends helping. Hermione is already working on how to get here. She's the one who sent the otter. It's also why I'm here; I'm here to catch him."

"You are a child! Why must it be you?" the king snarled.

"I'm the only one in this world familiar with the magic used by Travers. You don't have defenses against him. I _need_ to stop him. It's my job." Harry took a deep breath. "It's my fault. The death eaters that weren't insane were terrified and desperate when I joined the aurors after stopping Voldemort. They started to use new tactics to escape. I'm likely the reason Travers researched how to get here. You don't know how to stop him; I do." he answered.

…

"He's a git, Hermione." Ron whined, glaring at the blonde boy.

"He may have the information we need Ron. Now shush." she admonished.

Draco was spending the weekend restoring Hogwarts, working off his probation. After the trio's success at breaking into Gringotts, and Draco's at bringing Death Eaters into Hogwarts, it was natural for the Wizengamot to add them to the school's wards project. Bill, fired from the bank after the theft involving his brother, brought ancient Egyptian tomb expertise to the mix. On sunny days, the new wards shimmered in the air, lending a visual indicator of their safety.

Hermione tapped Draco on the shoulder. Turning, his eyebrow rose at seeing her with Ron glowering behind her. "Why are you here Granger?" Draco asked politely.

"It's about Harry. I need to look at some of your books on rituals. Do you have time to take me?" she requested, nervously wringing her hands.

"What's Potter gotten himself into this time?" he asked amused.

"Never you mind Malfoy. Just answer the question." Ron demanded.

"Ron" Hermione reproached.

"Fine" he mumbled, turning away to kick the wall.

Draco stared at Ron while asking Hermione with a smirk. "On one condition. Is it true that the Golden Trio is banned from Gringotts for life? You actually had the nerve to steal from the goblins?" he asked.

Hermione flushed red, rolling her eyes at the question. "Yes Draco." she sighed; he always pumped her for information on their seventh year before allowing her access to his library. "We broke into your aunt's vault." She finished slyly "She gave us the idea."

He stared at her incredulous before he burst out laughing. "And you really rode a dragon to escape?" he probed in disbelief.

Her expression became solemn, before answering seriously, "It was chained up down there. We set it free of course." she said, expression still reflecting earnest naivety.

His eyes boggled. "Dragons are not the same as house elves Hermione!" Draco exclaimed. "Merlin, no wonder they were upset."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." she said shrugging. "Now, about those books."

…

They had been talking for hours. Harry regaled Thranduil with the many adventures the golden trio had been on, to his horrified bemusement. During the process the king gained a substantive understanding of the death eater threat. Despite the outer form, he could no longer think of Harry solely as a child.

He shuddered to think how Legolas would react to the story. Dragons, trolls, snakes and dark lords. Starvation and torture. The Balrog Slayer himself could not spin such a horrifying tale at such a young age.

Allowing Harry to leave in the morning went against every instinct he had, but the pragmatism he learned ruling after his father recognized the elfling was the best resource they had to neutralize the threat. He wanted to just snatch up the child and flee middle earth. Harry had disabused him of the idea, informing him that with a thought he could return. Thranduil was helpless to defend him.

Dragging his thoughts back to the present, he focused on the post battle activities in Harry's life.

Harry was saying smugly to Thranduil. "I'm learning to change the laws I don't like." Thranduil raised his eyebrow at this statement, gesturing him to continue. Harry flashed a mischievous grin before elaborating.

"Most of the wizarding world thought it was ok to demand I slay the dark lord, while they kept their heads down. Some came up to me afterwards, furious that they lost family and friends, demanding why I didn't kill him sooner. I was only seventeen when Voldemort died."

Thranduil looked at him shocked. "They would dare?" he exclaimed enraged.

Ignoring the comment, Harry continued, ensnared in his memories. "I lost so many. Where were they during the fighting? Why did they go along with rules and laws passed by the dark lord?"Harry asked plaintively, "Nothing I did was good enough; but they had no responsibility for the problem. It was all mine." he finished sardonically.

Running a soothing hand over his, Thranduil admitted, "People have always needed leadership. Without it, they falter and fall to ruin. If your dark lord was the only visible direction, most would not challenge him."

"Later, during the death eater trials, Hermione and I testified for the Malfoy family. Lucius went back to Azkaban for three years, but Draco got probation, working to rebuild Hogwarts as he finished his education. Some didn't like that they got off lightly."

He laughed bitterly. "They had the dark lord living with them for two years. His favorite motivation techniques included watching his snake eat people as dinner entertainment and torture. They lived in terror. Most people didn't see that it was almost worse to be a follower than an enemy; at least they died relatively quickly, not tortured to insanity first."

"It is remarkable that two as young as you were able to see the other's side, especially so shortly after the battle." Thranduil said.

"I had a unique perspective of their actions and Hermione is a lifelong crusader. For instance, she started a legal revolution after the war by demanding all changes during Voldemort's reign be overturned."

Thranduil blinked in puzzlement. "They kept his laws on the books? Were they mad?"

Harry snorted. "You'd think that was an obvious first step. But common sense _really_ isn't common in the wizarding world." He shook his head, beginning to rant. "It wasn't right that my godson Teddy could be denied education because of a viscous attack done to his father as a child.

Thranduil stopped him. "You have a godson? You can't, you're a child!"

A smile broke over Harry's face. "Yes. He's an adorable two year old, whose favorite trick is to change his hair color and eyes to match mine." he said proudly. "For his sake, my best friend Hermione drafted changes to the werewolf legislation and convinced me to get Draco Malfoy, my childhood rival and Teddy's cousin, to review and suggest modifications."

"You have to understand, Draco's absolutely terrified of werewolves; he lived for two years with the one who attacked Remus, Teddy's father and my honorary godfather. She figured that if Draco agreed with the changes, most of the opposition would fall." he grinned. "They get along like water and oil, but when they're done with a new law, it's brilliant. Then I publically endorse it and everyone else passes it."

"What is a werewolf?" Thranduil inquired.

Harry answered. "Mostly, they're normal wizards. Once a month, on the light of the full moon, they turn into a wolf, losing all sense of self. A few decades ago a potion was created to allow them to retain their human mind and judgment during the transformation. She got the ministry to setup safety protocols and subsidize a portion of the potion cost." He smiled fondly.

"She's like my moral compass. She's the voice in my head I hear with before breaking the rules. She's very fond of rules." He said before laughing. "She once ranked getting expelled (for breaking the rules) higher than death.

The king chuckled, "I think I would like to meet this friend of yours." he said with a smile. "Very well. If I can't stop you, I'll assign a hunting party to help you. You can leave in the morning." Thranduil agreed.

"Thank you." Harry replied.

…

Legolas was gasping for breath. They'd barely had any rest since leaving Mirkwood; the orcs they had met on the road were hunting them. No matter how they twisted and turned, laying down false trails and doubling back, they couldn't shake them. Legolas pleaded with the Valor to let him reach Imladris before the day ended.

The orc pack was now down to three, including the wizard. Legolas had lost another two men.

Their horses were what had saved their lives. Their flanks quivered with exhaustion, as the remaining few elves sought to give them relief by running beside them. They hadn't stopped for food or rest in three days, eating food in the saddle as their mounts were fed by other hands.

He gave a relieved sigh as the hidden pass came into sight.

…

The ritual was complex. Which world was travelled to appeared to be based on the phases of the moon and time of day. Since Harry was no longer in the clearing where he arrived, that would need to be factored into the calculations. It would be best if she could tie the destination to somewhere close to his current location. She could create numbered care packages to send him, and test the timing at the same time.

There still was the transfiguration to an elfling aspect. Harry needed to be changed back, or given growth and aging potions. He couldn't face Travers as a child still learning control of his magic. She had a month to modify the ritual to not make the same changes to the rest of them; she had no desire to spend the next hundred years growing up.

She was down to two days to complete the calculations for the care packages before she would be forced to wait an additional month. She needed more help; there was no time left.

…

Harry and the hunters were camped in a glade on the eastern side of the misty mountains. Hermione's patronus had asked them to remain in place for care package delivery.

She had packed multiple knapsacks with food, clothes, medicinal potions, ingredients and just a few books. Each bag was pinned to a portkey that would lock onto Harry's magical signature 15 minutes after arrival into each world.

Crossing her fingers, she sent the first packages through the ritual timed a minute apart.

…

"Hermione I love you." Harry cried, when the bag appeared at his feet, S.P.E.W badge pinning a large #9 to the top. He looked up startled to see the hunters pointing arrows at the bag. Sheepishly, they lowered their arrows at his snickers.

He dropped to his knees to examine the contents. Humming under his breath, Harry reached in, opening the first container. Treacle tart sent by Molly. Sniffing in pleasure, he carefully set it aside. Soon the other contents were scattered around him.

Harry snorted when he reached in to remove the first books. He shook his head, muttering "Hermione couldn't resist sending me books." He reached in to grab the top pair. "Hey! These are translation journals." he exclaimed.

"What are they?" Gaeron asked curiously.

"They're mostly used in international negotiations. Both journals are paired, so that minutes taken in one language are automatically copied into a second language in the pair. It cuts down on squabbling after the fact." he answered.

An elf nudged the two black pieces of plastic. "And these are?" he asked, scowling at the unfamiliar material.

Picking up one of the set, Harry explained "These are hand crank radios. They allow non-magic folk to talk over great distances. We wished we had these to communicate with when on the run. George cracked how to have them work correctly around magic."

He then pulled two newspapers out of the bag. "I'm going to kill them!" he exclaimed seeing the headline filling the front page of today's Daily Prophet. The headline screamed "Chosen One in Hiding; Death Eaters Step Up Attacks." The article by Rita went on to detail how 'the chosen one' had barricaded himself into his home, refusing to ensure public safety. A quote of "I've done my job. It's time to leave me alone." was featured prominently under his reluctant picture from his Order of Merlin ceremony.

He saw Gaeron staring fascinated at the moving pictures. "The pictures are charmed to move." he explained offhandedly.

The second was the Quibbler. Harry laughed when he read that the wrackspurts reported him as enjoying his sightseeing trip. Apparently they reported he looked cute as a toddler, but he needed to be wary of the red dragon.

Standing, he sent his patronus. "Hermione, I've received care package #9. Potions and food appear ok. For Merlin's sake, please throttle Rita, and thank Luna. And SPEW? Nice to see you still have a sense of humor." he snorted.

…

Harry was riding in front of Gaeron today. He leaned back into his arms. "Where is he from?" he whispered.

Up ahead, there was a weary traveler on the road, noble by his accoutrements. His tunic displayed a white tree on a green background. He seemed to be studying the terrain, looking for the correct path.

Gaeron smiled down at the curious elfling. "That man is wearing a tunic from Gondor; he's likely from Minas Tirith, the capital." he whispered back.

"Oh." Harry said, trying to remember where that was on the map.

Raising his hand in salute, the man cried out "Hail, fellow travelers. Are you familiar with this region?"

"It has been a while." Gaeron said. "What do you seek?"

Looking over the party of elves, he replied hopefully "I'm looking for the entrance to Riverdale. Do you know it?"

"What is your purpose with the elves?" Gaeron inquired.

Sitting up straighter, he answered "I am Lord Boromir, son of the Stewart of Gondor. I seek council with Lord Elrond, and bring news."

"Hi. I'm Harry. Harry Potter." Harry piped up with a wide grin.

Boromir blinked twice, before his face broke into a smile at the adorable child. "Pleased to meet you Harry, Harry Potter. What purpose does a child have in the wild?" he asked, eyes twinkling at him in mirth.

Harry rolled his eyes at the censoring response, before grilling Boromir on everything from how long he had been travelling, to what did Gondor look like. Boromir eventually put up his hands, telling Harry he would have to visit and see for himself.

…

Harry had now been missing for almost two months. In just three more days Hermione and Ron would try and join him.

Ginny had been upset when she was told she couldn't come. The ritual only kept focus on each world for a short window of time; too short to send three people across. So the trio was reuniting, again leaving her behind.

Hermione was currently repacking everything they had used on the Horcrux hunt, and everything they wished they had. The selection of books had tripled, as had the amount of food.

"Ron, have you seen Harry's invisibly cloak? I need to pack it." she asked frantically.

"It was on the dining room table." he replied.

Exasperatedly, she informed him "It's not there anymore."

"Well, where could it have gone? It couldn't have grown legs." he demanded.

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking." she retorted.

…

"I was having problems finding my way, when I ran into a patrol of elves." Boromir said.

"It's unusual for elves to be so near Riverdale and not stop. Did they say what their purpose was?" Lord Elrond asked.

"Nay, they did not. Though they had a most adorable child with them. He looked to be about 5." he replied with a fond smile.

"A child?" prompted Elladan.

"Yes. 'Harry. Harry Potter' he said his name was." Boromir said imitating the child's voice. "He's a most curious child." He laughed in remembrance. "He grilled me on my journey and homeland for the entire time it took to find the entrance."

Stunned, Lord Elrond's eyes moved to Legolas's now pale face. "The elfling" he whispered fearfully.

An uneasy rumble echoed around the filled the hall, elven warrior hands reflexively closing in air where weapons normally rested. Lord Elrond looked around, judging the darkening mood. "Take three patrols. Find the child." He ordered his son softly.

Elladan promptly stood, nodding to Glorfindel and Elrohir, before collecting his men.

Determinedly Legolas stood up, followed by the rest of his party. "We join your search." he stated firmly, allowing no disagreement. Nodding in confirmation, the patrols quickly left the hall.

Bemused, the remaining dwarves, hobbits and men exchanged puzzled glances across the suddenly much emptier hall. "Wonder what's gotten into them?" Pippen asked curiously. "They didn't even finish dinner." He said in shocked dismay.

…

Draco shook her hand. "Try not to get yourself killed Granger." He nodded to Ron. "Weasley."

"Ferret." Ron replied. Hermione's elbow connected with his stomach. "I mean Malfoy." he corrected, rubbing his stomach. Draco smirked at his discomfort.

Molly hugged them both. "I know I can't prevent you from leaving, but take care." she said, tears running freely down her face. "Come back safely. Bring Harry home."

"Don't cry mum. You still have me." George said, draping his arm over her shoulders. "Take care little brother." He said before hugging Ron. He grasped Hermione next in a tight hug. "Take care little sister. Don't let Ron get you into trouble."

The rest of the family, minus Charlie in Romania, had regretfully said goodbye earlier in the morning before heading off to work.

…

Glorfindel was frustrated. The council was to be held tomorrow, forcing him to abandon his search for the elusive elfling. There had been tantalizing signs of tracks seen in the previous days, but no one had seen the child since Boromir arrived in Imladris. An elfling so young should not be in the wilds; most rarely left home before their hundredth birthday.

There was a crack around the bend on the road ahead. His horse flinched uneasily at the sound, before Glorindel urged it to a gallop, unsheathing his sword in preparation of nearby trouble.

Lying on the road was the unconscious body of a male, dressed in too large clothing. Leaning over him was a young female dwarrowdam, also drowning in her outfit, two packs at her feet. Hearing him approach, the female stood protectively over the male, holding out a stick in a threatening manner.

Pulling his horse to an abrupt stop a dozen feet away, Glorfindel stared down at her. "What is your purpose here?" he demanded.

When he made no further move forward, she cried out "Reddere", giving her stick a swish, swish flick. "My name is Hermione Granger. I'm looking for Harry Potter."

"I think then, you both had better come with me." he said.


End file.
